


Pandora, the Problematic Planet

by Madilian9



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fingering, Guns and violence warning, Jealousy, Love, Manipulation, Masturbation, Rough Sex, Seduction, Sex, Slow Build, Strangulation not Choking, abusive guardians warning, dating drama, mentions of torture, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 15:52:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4752158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madilian9/pseuds/Madilian9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scarlet Hunter, Scout to her friends, had a hard life, but learning to cope with the many, many problems she's encountered has made her cold, hard, and tough. But will that be enough to survive on the wild bandit-filled world of Pandora?<br/>It better be, 'cause there's no other choice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home Sweet Home

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fic I've posted. Also the first I've written. 
> 
> I just really wanted to add to the collections of Handsome Jack because let's be honest, he's pretty damn awesome. Helpful comments welcome! Thanks ;)

It had been a long day. 

Her scuffed red sneakers squeaked on the slick, oil stained floor as she maneuvered her away around the engine bits laying around the dimly lit shop. This had been her part time job since she was 16, almost 3 years now, and it was more of a home to her than anywhere else. She loved the smell of fresh oil in a car, and the sound of a smooth running engine. It was the place she ran to when she needed time to think, or when she needed a bit of cash. It was perfect.

In fact, she had been there the whole day, working on a special project she had lined up in the back room. Her boss let her hang around pretty much whenever she wanted, even if she wasn't working for the day. Before closing up the shop for the night, she decided to take one last peek. Silver peeked out from the protective sheet laying on top before she whipped it off in one swift motion. It was a gorgeous old 1965 Aston Martin DB5, also known as Bond's car. James Bond. 

A sigh left her lips as she though about driving the beautiful car through the soft green landscape of Europe. It had been her fantasy since she fell in love with the movies and the characters; mostly because that was the only memory she had of her dad before he left. A smile crept up as she remembered how they would sit on the living room couch with a big bowl of dill pickle seasoned popcorn and watch 007's famous movies. Her favourite one, to this day, was _A View To A Kill _. She couldn't remember what her dad's was. She snapped out of it with a solemn look as she covered the car back up, locked the door, snatched her favourite leather jacket, and left.__

It wasn't too long of a walk to get home, and she was there within 15 minutes. She swept the silver key up from under the flower pot on the window sill, wary of the spiders that lurked around, and stepped through the threshold of her home. Sounds and smells flooded her senses as she made her way up the stairs to her room, her mother must be cooking, almost reaching the top step before she heard a voice that sent shivers up her spine.

"Scarlet!" He bellowed, voice scraping against her ears, "Get your ass down here." 

"Shit." She muttered, heart caught in her throat, as she made her way back down the steps.  
She peeked around the corner of the wall to see a familiar sight. Terry, her mother's boyfriend, sat on their old green couch, feet up on the coffee table, beer cans scattered this way and that. He was a great, big, fat man with a balding head of greasy brown hair.  
Obviously he never bothered to clean up after himself, he wore the same shirt for days on end, the one he was wearing today had been collecting grease and beer stains for almost a week now. He also had a great amount of stubble coming in, almost a beard really. The only time he decided to have it shaved off was when he ordered my mother to come in and do it for him, and he had to be in a good mood for that. 

He was watching the football game, and his team was obviously losing, as there were twice as many cans laying around him than usual. That wasn't good.

Building up her courage, she stepped around the wall. 

"Yes, Terry? What do you want?"  
His big head slowly turned to look at her as his lips turned into the ugly snarl he usually wore upon his face. 

"What I _want _?" He said, drawing out the letters like they burned in his mouth. "What I want is for you to stop _fucking _around with your toys at that stupid shop all day and help your god damn mother clean up around this _shithole _.That's what I want."______

Halfway through his sentence he had gotten up and walked over to where she stood, beer in his hand, probably empty already. His eyes, reddened and angry, stared into hers as he waited for her to reply. She could smell his disgusting, moist breath on his angry words, and had to stifle her gag reflexes. She stayed quiet, hoping he would get bored of her and go back to his game. No such luck. 

"What? No smartass comments from you today?" 

He sneered and licked his cracked lips as his big meaty hand crept to her shoulder and slid down to her waist. She felt like a trapped animal as his hand went under her clothing and kept sneaking down further and further, and just as she couldn't take it anymore and was about to pull away from this retched man's predatorial grip, she heard her mother's soft voice, finally coming out to rescue her, which was quite rare in the Hunter household. 

"Hey Scout? Can I get some help in the kitchen please? Dinner is almost ready." 

Her mousy voice quivered with fear, she could tell. Terry glared in her mother's direction and she seized the chance to sneak out of his grip and make her way to the kitchen; but not before she felt the stinging of a slap on her ass and these biting words.  
"Yea, go help your whore mother in the kitchen. At least she stays where she belongs." 

That did it. That son of a bitch was fucking _dead _.__


	2. The People we Love

She turned around and kicked him, hard, in his fat gut. 

His face was full of surprise as he struggled to find his balance. She didn't give him a chance to look too long before she came around with another kick in his face as he was doubled over his fat stomach. This knocked him over with a thud and he hit the ground like a hunk of cement. Boy was she glad she went to those martial arts classes, though Scarlet never though she would have the courage to use them in her own home. But she had had enough. Her mother was the only person left on this world that she loved, and _no one _was going to treat her that way. Never again.__

__Pausing, she reached into the left pocket of her prized jacket and pulled a glinting object out. Her slender fingers wrapped around the carved wooden handle as she held it by her side, padded fingers feeling over the engraved _C.R _, waiting for him to get up off his greasy ass. He slowly pulled himself up, snarling obscenities at her, his face matching the redness of his eyes, until he saw the knife.___ _

____It was the knife her father gave her when she was about 11 years old. He had carved it himself when he was in the army, and the gift accompanied the last words he ever said to her.  
"Take this, Scar." He was the only one who ever called her that. "You take this, and don't hesitate to use it when you need to. We live in a cruel world, and it's not going to get better anytime soon. So you stay tough my girl, okay? That's how you _survive _." Scarlet had nodded, not really understanding what he was saying. She was only 11 after all.___ _ _ _

______He was gone the next morning._ _ _ _ _ _

______It was one of her most prized possessions, and she thought she was damn well ready to use it._ _ _ _ _ _

______Terry snapped out of his shock at the knife and started towards her at a fast pace, faster than she thought such a big man could move, but she was quicker. Just as she moved out of the way of his angry outstretched arms, and poised the knife, ready to strike, she saw another flash of silver._ _ _ _ _ _

______It was... Her mother? And.. A... Frying pan. Yep. That was a frying pan. Their nice black non-stick frying pan.  
She stood in awe of her mother as Terry's unconscious body slumped over, out for most likely a couple hours to come. Her mother, breathing heavy, suddenly realized what she has done and fell over much like the man she just hit over the head did. _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Mom!" Scarlet cried out as she fell to her knees beside her.  
Her mother smiled up at her, "It was about time I did something to protect my baby." She whispered. But Scarlet saw through her mother's act of toughness. She was scared.  
Her face then changed into a grim expression of determination.  
"Listen to me, Scout. I need you to go upstairs, into the closet, and find the black backpack hidden up there." 

______"Why do I nee-" she started._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Just go!" Her mother ordered, "Quickly, right now."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Shocked by her mother's actions and reactions, she nodded, and folded her knife carefully back into her jeans before running up the stairs and retrieving the backpack, which was quite heavy, and flying back down the stairs. She found her mother waiting by the front door, her weapon of choice nowhere in sight.  
She smiled softly at her daughter, still a child to her yet she knew that she was tougher than most people in this world. _ _ _ _ _ _

______"Now listen again Scarlet," She only used her full name when something grave was happening. "I can't come with you, but I'm going to need you to leave. Everything you need is in that bag, money, food to last you at least a week, clothes, and some other things. You're going to take that backpack, and go to where we saw the lights shine through the water, do you remember that place?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Scarlet was quite young when they first found that place, shortly after her dad disappeared, but she remembered._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Once you get to where you need to go, you have to look for the Crimson Raiders, and find a man named Roland, alright?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Tears were welling in both women's eyes as Scarlet refused and tried to persuade her mother to come with her. She couldn't leave her with that beast of a man, especially if he knows who exactly knocked him out cold. Nothing worked. Her mother was set in stone._ _ _ _ _ _

______It had been a long time since she decided that Scarlet was ready to leave, and the only way she could get through was if she was alone. She didn't belong there anyway. Her mother smiled softly at her thoughts and brought her now sobbing daughter into her arms._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I love you so much, Scout. I'll always be here for you baby; I promise." Her mother's fingers ran comfortingly through Scarlets silky red locks. Then, with a kiss on her cheek, she gently pushed her away. In a few seconds, the door would click and Scarlet would be standing outside in the brisk Fall wind, not knowing exactly what just happened.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She was 12 years old when they found that magnificent place in the trees, hidden from all the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. Emerald vines were strung back and forth in the tall trees, providing a canopy for the young girl and her mother, which was an odd sight for the area they lived in.  
There was a small pond in the midst of these trees, and curving over it all was a beautiful wooden bridge. Not the kind of bridge you would see anywhere else; no, this bridge grew there over time. It's back arched perfectly over the glistening waters that held more than just shimmering light.  
Oh, and the lights!  
The lights were the best part. Instead of just glistening through the water, reflecting like they usually would, they seemed to pierce straight past the depths. Unmoving and unshattering, they just slept in the sapphire waters.  
Back then, Scarlet believed that she had found it all by herself, with her mother in tow of course. But that night, when she had to run away from everything she knew, and the only person she loved, she realized that it couldn't have just been an accident. Something led her there. 

______Something not from this world. Something crazy and dangerous, yet beautifully wild. Little did she know that it was her _other _home calling to her.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Summoning her back to where she _belonged _.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	3. Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my chapters will get longer as I actually get into the story, thanks for reading :)

Her shoes slipped on the pavement as the brisk air filled with rain. It was dark outside and Scarlet tried to hold back the tears that were blocking her sight. She could feel them weighing on her lashes as she blinked, but refused to let them fall. She didn't cry.  
What just happened? Where was she going to go? Will her mother be okay? The only other time she felt this scared was years ago when she woke up and someone was missing from her life.

It was a Sunday, and her father had been back from the war for months now. He wasn't supposed to go back, he had gone on four tours already. He was never gone in the mornings, Scarlet would usually find him sitting at the kitchen table, coffee in one hand, paper in the other.  
She knew something was off as soon as she saw that morning's paper, unopened and neglected, by the sink.

She finally blinked and the salty water crept down her rosy cheeks, mixing with the relentless rainwater from above.

She kept walking.

It was about an hour walk to get to the place her mother told her to go. Scarlet didn't understand why she needed to go there, but she trusted her mother, so she kept going. She was determined to come back and get her mother as soon as she figured out where to go.  
"I'm coming back," she whispered, blinking hard.

Her shoes slapped rhythmically against the wet cement, backpack swaying side to side as she picked up her pace.

"I _promise _."__

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _

__Under the green canopy of the tall trees, it felt like a whole new night. Scarlet imagined that everything was different; and the next morning she would head to the shop to work on her car and everything would be right again. Not perfect, but normal._ _

__But she knew it wasn't true as she trudged on and broke into a clearing with a beautiful pond. Sitting down for a rest on a fallen log, she scraped the thick mud off her shoes with a stray stick._ _

__" _Now _what am I supposed to do." She muttered, looking around. Opening the backpack her mother had given her, she dug around, hoping to find something that would lead her in the right direction.  
Scarlet pushed aside a toothbrush, some clothes, and a baggie of odd looking coins only to find a single piece of paper. Flipping it over revealed a drawing, her mothers most likely, of a pond. Reflected in the pond was a hand reaching out, almost as if it was trying to show her the way. ___ _

_______Scarlet carefully put the picture back into her bag and slowly walked over to the gleaming waters. She stepped carefully around the cracked stones that led up to the water's surface. She jumped a little as a little frog croaked beside her, and laughed at herself. Finally, she found a dry spot on the pond's edge, sat down and peered into the murky depths.  
She touched the tip of her finger to the water and watched as the rings that formed around her digit slowed to a stop and disappeared altogether. Scarlet removed her finger and gasped as another finger appeared in the reflection where hers was a couple seconds ago. It wavered for a moment, then faded away like it was never there.  
Is this what her mother's drawing all about? _

____Gathering her courage, Scarlet bent over the water and put her whole hand in, waiting a couple seconds, only to quickly snatch it back. She watched carefully as another hand, almost identical to hers, appeared before the waters clear surface for a little bit longer, then sank bank to the black depths._ _ _ _

____Now more curious than scared, Scarlet leaned over the pond even further, rolled her jacket sleeve up, and dipped her entire arm into the warm water and left it there.  
In a few minutes, she saw the familiar hand, now attached to an arm much like hers, rise up out of the depths to meet hers. Its fingers trailed softly on her own arm as it moved up closer and closer to the light. Just as it reached the water's surface, Scarlet was shocked to see real fingers emerge and rise above the pond. _ _ _ _

____She had little time to gasp as the foreign digits shot rapidly to her throat.  
She had no air left to scream as she was dragged into the cold depths, where light is nonexistent._ _ _ _


End file.
